Customers Bancorp 二季报电话会重申全年目标并称 2026 年二季度为 NIM 低点

Earnings Call Insights: Customers Bancorp (CUBI) Q2 2026
“Total loans grew 4% in the quarter and 17% year-over-year to a record $18 billion,” “total deposits grew over $140 million to a record $21.7 billion,” and “noninterest-bearing deposits hit a second consecutive record at $6.9 billion or 32% of total deposits,” Samvir Sidhu (President, CEO & Vice Chairman) said, also citing “pristine credit quality and robust capital levels” alongside “modestly buying back shares.”
On AI strategy and expected operating impact, Sidhu said, “we announced a strategic collaboration with OpenAI,” and described a pilot where “we … successfully closed C&I and CRE loans that utilize this underwriting engine within a week,” adding, “we’ve set a goal of getting to a low 40s run rate efficiency ratio in 2027 versus the 50% or so we’re at today.”
On payments, Sidhu said the real estate payments vertical is scaling quickly, noting “transaction volume is up roughly 7x,” “spot deposit balances are up more than 4x, reaching $400 million,” and “we surpassed $5 trillion in cumulative transaction activity,” while also changing his prior stance: “At the end of last year, I told you we did not expect this to be a growth vertical. However… we now expect cubiX to be a growth area in 2027.”
Mark McCollom (Executive VP & CFO) said, “We delivered EPS of $2.05,” and added, “Net interest income was over $193 million,” while “our second quarter net interest margin of 3.17% is expected to be the low point for 2026.”
“We expect our net interest margin to move back toward first quarter levels in the third quarter and to build from there,” McCollom said, adding, “We also expect net interest income to be stronger in the back half of the year.”
“We are reaffirming all key metrics,” McCollom said, tying the reaffirmation to drivers including “the account and balance momentum from our new teams and real estate payments vertical,” and stating that “the combination of loan and deposit growth opportunities should result in solid growth in net interest income.”
Versus Q1 2026 messaging, Q2 emphasized a defined turning point: “We view the second quarter as the inflection point for the year,” and reiterated what was previously signaled: “as we signaled last quarter, our second quarter net interest margin of 3.17% is expected to be the low point for 2026,” McCollom said.
“Net interest income was over $193 million, up $16 million or 9% year-over-year,” McCollom said, and added, “On a linked quarter annualized basis, net interest income grew about 4%.”
“Noninterest expense was $114.9 million in the quarter, which included about $1 million of severance,” McCollom said, adding, “our noninterest expense as a percent of average assets was 1.82%.”
On cost-out execution, McCollom said, “we have now achieved the full $30 million run rate target,” with “about $4 million” from “revenue initiatives” and “about $26 million” from “expense initiatives.”
On capital and credit, McCollom said, “Our CET1 ratio was 12.8%,” and “credit quality remained stable across the board,” with “commercial charge-offs… low at just 18 basis points” and “Reserve coverage… 293%.”
Stephen Moss, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: asked timing for the real estate payments goal of “about 20% of payments”; President Sidhu: “that is a 2027 goal.”
Moss, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: asked about marginal deposit costs and cadence of funding-cost declines; President Sidhu: “the teams that we’re recruiting are bringing in… noninterest-bearing deposits,” and “we remixed about $600 million or so of higher cost funding.”
Kelly Motta, Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division: asked about lower average cash balances and whether tied to cubiX/DA; President Sidhu: “DA trading was down in the second quarter,” and “DA balances were $3.8 billion, but total cubiX balances were roughly flat in the quarter.”
Motta, Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division: asked what supports a back-half NII ramp; CFO McCollom: “the exit point at June 30… plus actual loan balances… gives us confidence for the back half of the year.”
Michael Pietrini, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division: asked how much of the real estate pipeline converts in 2026; President Sidhu: “our internal target is getting that to about $1.5 billion by the end of the year.”
Pietrini, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division: asked for quantified AI savings to date; President Sidhu: “we’re seeing productivity lifts today,” but “our focus is decoupling our expense base from our revenue growth as we get into 2027.”
Brian Wilczynski, Morgan Stanley, Research Division: asked if loan growth is skewing to the high end of guidance; CFO McCollom: “the higher end of the range would be more likely.”
Sun Young Lee, TD Cowen, Research Division: asked about the CLARITY Act; President Sidhu: “we’re very, very supportive of market structure and clarity,” and said agency rulemaking “should hopefully provide structure.”
Manuel Navas, Piper Sandler & Co., Research Division: asked for a June NIM “jumping off point”; CFO McCollom: “we don’t usually talk about monthly results,” and reiterated, “our third quarter NIM is going to be closer to our first quarter net interest margin.”
Navas, Piper Sandler & Co., Research Division: asked when conservatism on deploying DA balances could shift; President Sidhu: “in the next quarter or 2, I’ll be able to sort of give some more confidence,” and “2027 should be a growth year for cubiX related deposits.”
Analysts’ tone was slightly positive and detail-oriented, with supportive framing (e.g., “Nice nice quarter here,” Moss, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division) while repeatedly pressing on cubiX balances, NII/NIM inflection timing, and deployability of digital-asset funds.
Management’s tone was confident in prepared remarks and steady in Q&A, repeatedly using reaffirmation language such as “we are reaffirming all key metrics” (Executive VP & CFO McCollom) and forward-looking conviction such as “we intend to be the one that proves what serious adoption looks like” (President, CEO & Vice Chairman Sidhu).
Versus Q1 2026, the tone around cubiX shifted from diversification-building to explicit growth expectations, with Sidhu now stating “we now expect cubiX to be a growth area in 2027,” while Q&A focus remained consistent on balances, funding costs, and NII trajectory.
Q2 introduced a clearer payments growth pivot and timeline, with Sidhu moving from earlier caution to “we now expect cubiX to be a growth area in 2027,” alongside a defined target that the real estate payments vertical “could represent 20% of all payment units” as a “2027 goal.”
Q2 added more explicit NIM path language, with McCollom calling Q2 “the inflection point for the year” and the “low point for 2026,” while Q1 focused more on reaffirming full-year NII growth expectations and balance-sheet leverage.
Analyst questioning in Q2 concentrated more on DA trading-driven balance variability, real estate vertical conversion, and the “jumping off point” for NIM; Q1 questions leaned more toward cubiX mix/expansion, AI revenue opportunities, and written agreement progress.
Management flagged activity sensitivity in digital assets, with Sidhu saying, “DA trading was down in the second quarter,” and linking it to “lower payments float,” while emphasizing offsetting growth: “total cubiX balances were roughly flat in the quarter.”
Management highlighted that AI financial benefits are still building, with Sidhu saying, “some of the larger lifts actually take quarters, not weeks,” and framing near-term focus as “decoupling our expense base from our revenue growth as we get into 2027.”
Management emphasized near-term uncertainty around deployability of DA balances, with Sidhu saying, “we… have continued to be conservative,” but added, “in the next quarter or 2, I’ll be able to sort of give some more confidence.”
Customers Bancorp’s Q2 2026 call emphasized continued balance-sheet expansion alongside a sharper 2027 framing: management reiterated its full-year targets while describing Q2 as the year’s NIM inflection and low point, outlined a 2027 efficiency ambition in the “low 40s,” and positioned cubiX as a 2027 growth area driven by scaling real estate payments and broader vertical expansion, with analysts focusing most on the durability of cubiX balances, the NII/NIM ramp mechanics into the back half, and when digital-asset-related funds could become more deployable.